Comments on: GarageBand: Usability vs. Hackability

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:29:59 +0000

The thing that I am impressed by Garageband (08) is the quality of the sounds. I looked at some of the samples of the orchestral sounds and that are huge, long samples that sound nearly as good as software synths like the Garriton Personal Orchestra. While GB is very limited as a sequencer, (I’m used to using Sonar 7 on PC and Digital Performer 5.1 on Mac), it would make a great software synth. I hope they make a “rewire” version or patch to allow this so that I could access GBs sounds in Performer just as I would rewire “Reason” of “Abelton Live”.

If someone creates a “mod” (hack) for this, let me know!

Paul

By: jon

jon — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:29:21 +0000

To clear up the time signature question, what is meant by not being able to switch out of 4/4 probably means, although you have a wide variety of tempos to choose from, you cannot switch tempos in a song. It is kind of limiting… For example, If you wanted the first part of the song to be in 4/4 and a 2nd part to be 6/8 and then back to 4/4, you are SOL buddy. The same goes for changing keys in the song.

If you are using this as a simple recording unit, with an external drum track, and you are an actual musician, this isn’t a problem. You can be as creative as you want. However, you don’t have accurate control over editing tempo, pitch change, etc.

By: DW

DW — Mon, 07 May 2007 05:54:14 +0000

I’ve used both garage band and acid pro.
I have had my music that i’ve created in acid pro placed on tv and in film.
I have made money from this with royalty checks paid by publishers and major recording organizations.
i’m not tooting my own horn, merely giving reference as to weight of opinion, professional versus bedroom enthusiast.
If you need felxibilty and attention to detail acid pro is worth every penny, even though it is chronically unstable as a program, once (if) they remedy this, watch out, there’ll be zero comparison bewteen the two.
I also use a mac powerbook, the mac is wonderful, very dependable, but garage band is …….. well lame.
It’s like a childs toy. There is no (as in zero) ability to create detailed pieces of music, down to the single one shot, and have it be useable for serious production. As in none. Ableton live is the way to go.

On a cost versus cost basis, garage band looks like a better deal, but at what level of creativity are you willing to sacrifice detail and useability for price?

If acid pro were more stable, then garage band would be sentenced to the bedrooms of the world forever (provided it remains in it’s present state).

By: creativity/machine » hackability and adaptive design

creativity/machine » hackability and adaptive design — Wed, 24 May 2006 00:13:51 +0000

[…] I sometimes talk about a tension between ‘usability and hackability‘, and somewhat pessimistically about how, most of the time, technology (in the broadest, most social sense of the word) teaches us what we should do with it, and how we should do those things. I need to get more across current thinking in interaction design/critical design theory though. This patient, careful post by Dan Hill, a transcript of an interview where he outlines his contribution to a forthcoming book on the subject, is a big help: The discourse around hackability is often littered with “hooks, sockets, plugs, handles” and so on. With adaptive design, drawing from the language of architecture more than code, we have a more graceful, refined vocabulary of “enabling change in fast layers building on stability in slow layers”, “designing space to evolve”, “time being the best designer” and so on. This suggests that there could be a distinction; that adaptive design is perhaps the process designed to enable careful articulation and evolution, as opposed to hackability’s more open-ended nature. […]

By: gautch

gautch — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

“although you can create loops in another program like ACID and import them”…. actully Acid does all that GarageBand does and more! GarageBand seems to be an entry level app compared to Acid! I think its sad that GarageBand is getting all this “Hype”. Dose GarageBand do video? Does GarageBand allow you to stray away from 4/4 tempo? Does GarageBand allow midi controle? No, no, and um, no. I can only hope Apple will make a “Pro” version of GarageBand or GarageBand users will hear about Acid and just try it!

Full version: http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=704

Free version: http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=268

Official site: http://www.acidplanet.com/

-gautch

By: mph

mph — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

I keep asking around Apple enthusiast sites and no one can/will answer: How does this product differ from the basic ($69.95) ACID or even the less costly/featured “Styles” versions of that product from before Sony’s acquisition of the title?

I’ve been using ACID to make music for years, and this sounds like it’s much the same, but I haven’t seen it in use or heard from anyone who’s used both enough to compare.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Gautch…

Apple does make Pro audio products. They are Soundtrack (the intermediate level product) and Logic Pro (the top level product).

And GarageBand doesn’t do video… thats because iMovie (which comes with it) does video, and the two are tightly integrated. (GarageBand is also integrated with iTunes, iPhoto and iDVD…)

Finally, GarageBand users aren’t interested in Acid - because its not available on the Mac…..

Mph - How does GarageBand differ from Acid? Its easier to use, its cheaper ($49 as part of a suite of programmes, or free with a new Mac), and its available on the Mac
Cheers
Jeremy

By: Kaden

Kaden — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Garageband will be the litmus test for the long proclaimed creative superiority of the Apple client base: Will drag and drop music made by the musically unskilled with a Mac be any different than drag and drop music made by the musically unskilled with a PC?

By: CaptKevMan

CaptKevMan — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Thanks for mentioning our site, MacJukebox, in your article. The link for it is incorrect, however: we can be found at http://macjukebox.net .

The URL currently in the link (gbxchange.com) was forfeited to GarageBand.com in order to satisfy a trademark dispute claim; it currently leads to their website (which is not an Apple GarageBand users’ community site).

Great discussions, by the way!

By: gautch

gautch — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Jeremy,

Thank you for clearing it up! There is a diffrence between GarageBand and Acid. Being an Acid fan and a Mac fan its going to be a big deceision for me (or anyone) to make. It does sound as thought Apple is making a great step, expecially if it comes with the new Mac’s!

I do have to disagree that its easyier to use, but thats me. I cant disagree with it being cheaper! $50 bucks is good for this type of product. But $700-$2,000 for a new Mac, it better come with this App and many more! Shoot why not make me a famous muscian while im writing this check! hah

If i were to give any one advice on choosing an app. id say to use the free trials! The best way to buy anything is to try it out. Click, click, click… hit all thoes buttons!

CaptKevMan,
Thanks for the updated link!

Kaden,
Good point!
“musically unskilled” is “musically unskilled” i dont care what your keyboard is attached to!

-Gautch